#0202_A_View_From_East_Jerusalem
News Digest: Demolition of an in-construction Building Belonging to a School in Shuafat Refugee Camp [1]
"Urgent: Reports confirm calls from the mosques to the people of Shuafat Refugee Camp to head to A-Razi School next to Hazem Zughayyar's [Street] health maintenance organization [Hebrew terminology used in original post] building due to the Occupation's intent to demolish the school."
[Selected comments:]
– "May God help us."
– "May God protect us from this page! Before posting news, make sure it's true because our children are in school. You terrified us; may God terrify you. Do you just copy and paste from other pages?"
▶️ Source: Shuafat Refugee Camp – Jerusalem
[Selected excerpts from article]
"On Tuesday morning, the machinery of the Occupation Municipality demolished A-Razi School building that is under construction in Shuafat Refugee Camp in Jerusalem.
Mohammad Alqam, the owner of the school, clarified that the Occupation authorities issued a decision last November ordering the demolition of the school building. He pointed out that before commencing construction, the school turned to the Municipality and the Ministry of Interior to acquire a permit. They were told by the authorities that the area belongs to the UNRWA [2]. To the surprise of the school, a demolition order was issued claiming the building is without a permit [3].
The principal of the school, Saleh Alqam, clarified that the demolition was executed today [Tuesday] suddenly and without previous warning after the school was completely surrounded. He emphasized that after the issuance of the demolition order at the end of last year, the construction was halted to attempt to acquire a permit.
[Saleh Alqam] clarified that 400 students applied for the upcoming 2019/2020 school year in A-Razi school's new building, which was supposed to include a kindergarten and an elementary school. After the demolition, there is no space for these new students."
▶️ Source: Ma'an News Agency
[Selected excerpts from article]
"On Thursday, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Archbishop of Sevestia of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, welcomed a delegation from Shuafat Refugee Camp in the north of Jerusalem.
During the meeting, the Archbishop said, 'we express our renunciation and repudiation of the Occupation authorities' actions of demolishing an in-construction building belonging to A-Razi School in Shuafat Refugee Camp.' He said that these Occupation policies will only increase the nation's steadfastness to the land and defending our rights.
A discussion was held during the meeting about the situation in Shuafat Refugee Camp and what it is exposed to, and the necessity of acting as one family for supporting the nation's people's perseverance in Jerusalem as well as other places."
▶️ Source: Ma'an News Agency
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0202 Editor's Notes:
[1] Shuafat Refugee Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp within the Jerusalem jurisdiction located next to Shuafat, a Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The camp is located outside the separation wall, but technically, the Shuafat refugee camp falls under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality. It is thus the only Palestinian refugee camp located in Jerusalem.
[2] UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
[3] The surprise of the school stems from the fact that areas belonging to UNRWA cannot be demolished by Israeli authorities because they are internationally protected.
#Shuafat_Refugee_Camp #Demolition #Archbishop
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